PR 96/41 - WORLD FOOD SUMMIT WILL SEEK NEW PARTNERSHIPS

PR 96/41

WORLD FOOD SUMMIT WILL SEEK NEW PARTNERSHIPS IN A RENEWED FIGHT FOR
UNIVERSAL FOOD SECURITY

London, October 15 -- Heads of State and Government attending an
historic World Food Summit in Rome next month will sign a policy statement
and plan of action calling on all sectors of society to join in the fight
for universal food security, the Summit organizer said today.

"The Summit is not a pledging conference, and it will not seek to
establish any new form of bureaucracy. Its aim is to secure agreement on
concrete action and to form new and effective partnerships that will bring
the world closer to the Summit goal of "Food for All," Kay Killingsworth,
Secretary General of the World Food Summit Secretariat, said.

Killingsworth spoke at a press briefing held in the United Nations
Information Centre in connection with annual World Food Day observances on
16 October. In preparation for the Summit, this year's World Food Day
theme is "Fighting Hunger and Malnutrition."

Close to 200 Heads of State and Government have been invited to
attend the World Food Summit on 13-17 November at the headquarters of the
UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome. It is the first such
top-level meeting ever called to tackle the issue of food security.

The Summit, proposed by FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf, won
unanimous endorsement from the FAO governing Conference and the United
Nations General Assembly.

FAO, with 174 member nations plus, the European Community, a member
organization, and Puerto Rico, an associate member, is the largest of the
United Nations' specialized agencies. Its mandate is to alleviate poverty
and hunger by promoting
sustainable agricultural and rural development, improved nutrition and the
pursuit of universal food security.

"In theory the world produces sufficient food for everyone, but that
food is not reaching many millions of people," Killingsworth said. FAO
estimates that some 800 million people in developing countries are
chronically undernourished, and close to 200 million children under the
age of 5 suffer from potentially debilitating protein or energy
deficiencies. Eighty-two countries, 41 of them in Africa, are unable to
produce or buy enough food to nourish all their populations at all times.

"According to current calculations," Killingsworth continued, the
world's population will grow by 3 billion to a total of 8.7 billion men,
women and children by the year 2030.

"Providing adequate nourishment for these people is a problem that
agriculture alone cannot solve. It will take commitment at the highest
level of government and the active involvement of the entire spectrum of
society from intergovernmental, non-governmental and UN agencies to
academic and research institutions, the private sector, parliamentarians,
women's and youth groups, all of civil society."

Killingsworth said the proposed Plan of Action to be placed before
the world leaders attending the Summit has seven components:

Creating political, economic and social conditions that foster
food security.

Providing access to land and other resources, employment,
education and health care.

Producing more food where it is needed, with less strain on
resources, through careful use of land and water, human development and
training, combatting environmental threats to food security and providing
supporting infrastructure and services.

Promoting international food trade that meets the needs of
importing countries.

Dealing with disasters through prevention, preparedness, effective
emergency response and relief efforts that lead to development.

Encouraging investment in agriculture, food processing and
distribution, research to optimize use of available resources and human
development.

Ensuring results by fully utilizing existing organizations and
mechanisms, accurately mapping the areas where hunger exists and promoting
national responsibility with international solidarity.